Thanks to growing interest in international cuisines, it’s never been easier to locate the ingredients you need to prepare foods of other cultures in your own kitchen. And great news: Many of your favorite global ingredients just happen to have great health benefits.
Joan Raymond has written on health and science for Newsweek, Health, and other national publications. These recipes are by Mark Bittman, author of The Best Recipes in the World and food columnist for The New York Times.
Comments (37)
I am interested in knowing a professional opinion of the Acia’ Berry which is harvested from the Rain Forests of Brazil. Do you have any information about it and the effect it may have on people taking Coumadin. Thank you.
It has been presented to me as a superfood. Do you have any opinion about the berry.?
I heard that the berry loses most of its benefits when heated, check out the supplement facts of Signature Grain at LifeMax.net, that will excite you in the super food area. Look at the Omega’s. This is FDA approved as well.
I have talked to numerous nutrition experts in my area and they ALL advise against taking tiny seeds like the chia seeds every day as they can get caught in your digestive track and cause problems. Yes, they do have nutritional benefits, but I wouldnt recommend them as a daily ritual. I personally eat healthy and I tried Chia seeds from LIFEMAX and felt no difference. I let my friends try the rest of mine to see if they got anything out of them (all for a week) and not one of them noticed a difference in how they felt…nor did any of them lose weight. Must be just me, but I think its a bunch of nonsense. BUT to anyone who feels it helps them taking the seeds daily, more power to you.
Signature Grain Lifemax is the newest MLM scam rip off – horrendously overpriced. Go to a health food store and ask for chia instead.
Dear Debbie,
I broke my back jumping out of planes in the Army in 1994. Since I have had one major operation and have not had a pain free day. The lowest I ever got on a scale of 1-10 was a 5. I had trouble sleeping through the night and digestion was a huge problem. I have been introduced to Mila and within 5 days I have not had any (yes I said any) pain. This is a by product of the anti inflammatory properties of the Salvia hispanica L. I have been sleeping through the night and have become “regular” and mass quantities of waste have been extricated from my body. I would estimate that I have spent over $15,000 in the past 15 years on massage, homeopathics, and other forms of non traditional help to curb the pain. I have found something that works WELL and I will keep using it and turn my friends and family onto it! I have since become a distributor for Mila. This has all happened as of 10.3.09 and today is 10.6.09. I am pain free and for that I am grateful.
Dear Debbie:
I much prefer Salba. Even though it is priced higher, the different Salba companies have very smart websites and they answer any question within a few days. I feel very comfortable purchasing a premium quality product that really delivers on their promises. Also, it seems to be the only type of Salvia hispanica L. that has any human clinical studies. Have you noticed that Signature Grain and most of the chia companies state clinical research but they can’t supply the information to you when asked? I think Salba is the company that actually paid for it and that their competitors use it unscrupulously because Salba includes the university and the scientist’s name on a few of the websites.
Otis
“I think Salba is the company that actually paid for it and that their competitors use it unscrupulously because Salba includes the university and the scientist’s name on a few of the websites.”
You have a point!
You will also note Signature Grain misleads people into thinking it is the only Salvia hispanica L with FDA approval:
“In fact, The Signature Grain™ is the only delivery system for Omega 3’s with the recommended daily percentage and full food status classification by the FDA.”
Dear Debbie:
I did telephone the University of Toronto and spoke to the secretary of Dr. Vladimir Vuksan, the scientist who did the actual studies and indeed we are right. Salba paid for the clinical trials entirely on their own and companies such as The Signature Grain, Anutra, ChiaNutra, and Omega-3 Chia are in fact using it unlawfully. They are in fact stealing it. I will now definitely only purchase Salba.
The telephone number at the university is 416-864-5526 and the young lady’s name is Agnes.
Otis
Dr. Wayne Coates has been doing research on the Salvia Hispanica L for over 20 years out of the University of Arizona. While the above mentioned foods are in the same family as the Signature Grain, they do not come close to the nutritional values as the Hispanica L. As for the price? the natural processing method used by Lifemax increases the absorption rate to over 84%. This is probably 40% higher than chia and the salba. That means that twice as much of the nutrients in Salvia Hispanica L actually get obsorbed. When it comes to price, you get what you pay for. The Signature Grain is the worlds most nutritious whole food.
Tim
Jason you are right on! I have taken many forms of Chia Seed and Salba and then I took the Signature Grain, there is no comparison, the effects from The Signature was far superior to regular Chia Seed. Everyone should try it for themselves before knocking it!
Thanks,
Cole
“As for the price? the natural processing method used by Lifemax increases the absorption rate to over 84%. This is probably 40% higher than chia and the salba.”
$60 for Signature Grain vs $20 for other brands.
Please cite your source that the “absorption rate is over 84%.” Specifically, in which facility/university were the absorption/dispersion trials conducted? Who conducted the trials? In which publications were the peer-reviewed clinical studies published?
I have tried all the above brands of grain. The signature grain is without a doubt better. I have a medical problem and when I ran out of the signature grain, I purchased Salba to see if it would give same effect. I can honestly tell you it didnt.
I am a Type 2 diabetic and I started taking The Signature Grain a couple weeks ago. I test my blood sugar everyday and ever since I started taking The Signature Grain the spikes after I eat are not nearly as bad. I’m not a doctor and don’t claim to be. All I know is it works so I’m happy
Thank you for your article on Superfoods. It was very informative and interesting. :)
I’ve been eating Signature Grain too. LOVE IT!!!
I just found out “signature grain” is just black and white Salvia Hispanic L and there is no proof it is better than Anutra or Salva– but they cost less than half as much. Why would you pay money to join some MLM company to buy it?
Then you would be ripping off freinds and family when they paid too much too!!!!!
Lorraine:
Why on earth would you try Salba after you ran out of Signature Grain when it is obvious you are a distributor for Lifemax? One container of Signature Grain (at $60) supposedly lasts a month. The product hasn’t been available to the general public for a month.
I too have tried Signature grain, anutra & salba. I had signed up to be a distributor with LifeMax, but prior to deciding to actually purchase an order from the company, I wanted to try Salba & Anutra as Salba had the studies & Anutra appears to possibly be from the same source as Lifemax as they also talk about Dr. Wayne Coates being involved with that company. I am also a physician as wanted to provide a great product to my patients. My boyfriend was the main guinea pig. He has arthritis, but it’s especially prevalent in his hands to the point where they close up at the base of the thumb. He also suffers from back pain due to previous surgeries. Although the others did resolve his pain to a degree, only the lifemax brand allowed his hands to actually flatten back to normal. As he has no interest in taking the others since the Lifemax works better, I will be distributing it. By the way, it has great results on triglyceride levels, in a 6 week period of time, one patients triglyceride levels dropped over 100 points from 300 to 180. I think that it is great that there are options for this product. I would recommend giving them all a try & seeing what works best for you. Ultimately, it’s about health & I wouldn’t dispute that all of those products will bring an increase to one’s health.
Most people on this board are a SHILL for lifemax– give me a break. $60.00 for a $18.00 product — must be scam artists. Where are you getting the 84% from TIM –from your butt? You must quote actual research if you are to use figures and have anyone belive you.
EVEN IF YOU WERE CORRECT ABOUT IT BEING TWICE AS GOOD– IT COSTS OVER 3 TIMES AS MUCH!!!!!WHAT A SCAM
What do you doctors think of this Salba by Northstar?
http://www.northstarnutritionals.com/p/Salba_Seed.html?osCsid=ddjh2f0tcq553r93td9btbbe66
The company claims that the black seeds do the tricks; the white seeds are lame. Is this product a scam and rip-off?
The Signature Grain has one of the highest contents of Omega-3’s available. It is a good product. http://www.buythegrain.com
I take the signature grain and love it. why are people so nasty? try everything you like and make a decision for yourself. Let your own experience be the determining factor…
don’t attack something because of preconceived notions or a couple minutes of internet research. You can find anything on the internet for goodness sakes:)
The MonaVie fruit drink with the acai berry is immediatelty freeze dried after harvesting. MonaVie’s unique freeze-drying process captures the full complement of acai’s nutritional value. I believe in this berry and I like this product.
Here is a site that was created by Dr. Steven Pratt, the best selling author of SuperFoodsRx: http://www.superfoodsrx.com.
He provides a list of “his” SuperFoods and explains their benefits.
i hate india.
i hate japan.
I don’t think that there’s any question that MonaVie is a great product with awesome benefits. There success speaks for itself. I know several people who distribute and several people who are consumers and not distributors. All swear by the product the same.
I am an independent distributor for Lifemax (www.milastore.com) and became involved for the benefit of the antioxidants as well as the omega 3 count. I have, in the past, taken other Chia products that I won’t name and was not impressed (yes, even though they cost less).
I think that what is important here is that more and more Americans are realizing that the typical American diet is severely lacking in some areas and I think that you’ll see the “super foods” becoming more and more popular.
Salba and Life Max’s Signature Grain is chia seed, Salvia Hispanica L. There’s plenty of chia being sold in the U.S. and Canada but Omega 3 Chia is the only chia seed with the agricultural certifications, (GAP,GMP,HACCP,ISO9000) that the seed is grown specifically for human consumption. No other chia has those certifications. This is important particularly with the problems with tomatoes/peppers this year and spinach last year. You can look at: http://www.nsrinews.org for real scientific information. This chia is affordable too. And the best on the market. http://www.omega3chia.com….Dr. Oz has been their customer for over 2 years.
I have taken and distributed Noni, Mangosteen, MonaVie over the years and have not had the results I have had with Lifemax Salvia Hispanica L. I have problems with my eyes Glaucoma, Macular Degeneration, and in 6 days after starting the product my vsion became clearer, in addition to other health problems that are responding to the Lifemax product alertness, more energy. With the other products I would experience one are two benefits but with this product its like multiple health benefits. If you pay $18.00 then thats what you’ll benefit.
Wow! It’s seems that there are many experts on this page. So, let me share a few things I have learned. If you think there are no differneces in chia then buy a few products and have them tested your self. If you want high quality in chia then you need to get lifemax. Want to consume weeds, do the $18.00 chia. There is a difference. Not all chia is the same. Sure there’s black and white chia, but there is chia that is high in omega 3’s and chia that is not. do more research before you jump to conclusions. I have tried many different brands and so far the lifemax grain is by far the best!!! And no, I am not a distributor. I have researched this for many many hours. If you have doubts, I suggest you do the same. Thank you
Honestly, soy is one of the nasty foods that I think should be avoided. The positive aspects of soy are few and far between. This is examined in more detail, along with many other ‘healthy’ foods here:
http://www.projectswole.com/healthy-lifestyle/20-unhealthy-foAods-that-you-think-are-healthy-but-are-actually-killing-you-slowly/
i think all your answers are wrong apricots are the healthiest foood in the world
This is really funny
I first heard about chia seeds in a newsletter called Second Opinion who had tests done to show no difference in content despite color. I buy mine from SwansonVitamins for $12 a pound and am very happy. If you google search the founders of Lifemax, Jim and Sherry, they are being sued for numerous real estate scams. Why would anyone buy anything from these crooks? I guess you can fool some of the people all the time.
I heard of this as well from a friend. Apparently Jim and Sherry have a criminal record. Maybe their product is good, but the fact that they have the social security numbers for all of their distributors practically scares me. Im glad they didnt get mine.
Thanks for reminding me of that James.
Give me a break…
before you go posting rumors of slanderous garbage
you should have your facts straight..
the above people posting have a obvious
problem with the fact that lifeMax is a MLM.. Period..
which is fine , but DO NOT be sladerous about it..
none of you have real proof of these things you are saying. This is a Blog for people to share there stories on health experiance keep it that way.
I myself went searching for anything negitive on the company and their owners and have found nothing but tons of glowing reports about this company and its product. my 2 cents
Eat canned sardines regularly, take restveratrol every day, exercise and get rest…live happily ever after!